COST GUIDE

Exterior Painting Cost Twin Cities: 2026

Name: Durahome Painting Plus
Address: 504 Prior Ave N, Saint Paul, MN, 55104, US
Telephone: (612) 400-8864
Price range: $$
Rating: 4.8

★★★★★4.8 from 140+Google Reviews

Exterior painting cost in the Twin Cities runs $6,000 to $12,000 for most houses — and here is exactly what moves a quote inside that range.

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QUICK ANSWER

What does exterior house painting cost in the Twin Cities?

Most Twin Cities homes fall between $6,000 and $12,000 for a full exterior repaint (compact ramblers $4,000–$7,000, mid-size $6,000–$9,000, and larger two-storys or walkout properties $8,000 to $12,000). Roughly 80% of the number is labor, which is why surface preparation — not paint — is what separates a $6,000 quote from a $10,000 one on the same house.

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BY HOUSE

What Different Houses Actually Cost

These are working ranges for a full exterior repaint in this metro — body, trim, soffit, fascia, doors and garage doors — including preparation and two finish coats.

TIER 01roughly $5,500 to $8,000

Single-Level Rambler

Less total surface than anything else and no work at height. What pushes one toward the upper end is coating history — a 1960s house on its fourth repaint has more to deal with than a 1995 house on its first.

✓ Less total surface✓ No work at height

TIER 02roughly $6,000 to $9,000

Split-Level or Split-Entry

More surface than a rambler, gable ends at height, and stair-stepped facades that take longer to cut in than a flat wall.

✓ Gable ends at height✓ Stair-stepped facades

TIER 03roughly $7,000 to $11,000

Two-Story

The work at height is the difference, and it is an access cost rather than a materials one.

✓ Work at height access cost✓ Includes full exterior repaint

TIER 04add $1,000 to $2,500

Walkout Property

A rear elevation standing three levels above a slope needs staging built rather than ladders placed, and that is real labor.

✓ Staging built on slope✓ Three-level reach

TIER 05roughly $2,000 to $4,000

Trim, Doors & Garage Doors Only

On a vinyl-sided house where the siding is sound, this is frequently the entire honest project — and it is the quote most homeowners never think to ask for.

✓ Vinyl-sided house trim option✓ Frequently the entire honest project

TIER 06$1,500 to $2,500 on top

Add a Deck

Doing it in the same visit costs meaningfully less than a separate trip.

✓ Same visit savings✓ Combined exterior work

💡 Note: Materials and supplies are typically only around 15% to 20% of a residential exterior. That is why the lowest bid usually has the same paint in it as the highest one, and why comparing bids by product name tells you almost nothing.

THE VARIABLES

Six Things That Change a Quote on the Same House

FEATURE 01

Surface preparation, which is most of the project.

Scraping, sanding, filling, caulking, priming bare wood and treating growth is where the hours go. Two contractors quoting the same house at different numbers are usually quoting different amounts of preparation, and that is the question worth asking.

FEATURE 02

What the house is clad in.

Wood and cedar carry decades of coating build and need the most work. Hardboard and masonite wick water at cut ends and bottom edges. Stucco needs a breathable system and crack repair. Vinyl usually needs nothing at all beyond the trim.

FEATURE 03

Wood repair and replacement.

Boards that have gone past coating want replacing rather than another layer. This should be identified at the walkthrough and priced, not discovered in week two.

FEATURE 04

Access.

Height, slope, landscaping close to the house, and whether a lift can reach the property at all. A wall that needs staging costs several times a wall a ladder reaches.

FEATURE 05

Color change.

Going considerably lighter or darker than the existing color may require an extra coat, which is real material and real labor.

FEATURE 06

And the age of the house.

An older house needs more careful preparation, more containment and more hand work, and all of that is time on the estimate.

THE OTHER METHOD

Why Contractors Quote Per House, Not Per Sq Ft

Exterior painting is frequently discussed at $1.50 to $4.00 per square foot of wall area in this market, and any online calculator will give you a number in that band. It is a reasonable sanity check and a poor way to buy the work.

The reason is that square footage measures the easy part.

Two houses with identical wall area can differ by thousands of dollars because one has forty feet of intact vinyl and the other has cedar with failing paint, twelve windows to cut around, a two-story gable and a shutter on every opening. Surface area is the same; the labor is not remotely.

Use a per-square-foot figure to check whether a quote is broadly sane. Use a walkthrough to find out what it should actually be.

COMPARING BIDS

Five Questions That Separate Three Estimates

Clear answers for homeowners across the Twin Cities.

01 — What preparation is included, specifically?

What preparation is included, specifically?

Not "prep as needed." Scraping, sanding, priming bare areas, caulking, and how growth is treated. A quote that will not itemize this is the quote that will change later.

What preparation is included, specifically?

Not "prep as needed." Scraping, sanding, priming bare areas, caulking, and how growth is treated. A quote that will not itemize this is the quote that will change later.

TIMING

The Season, and What Waiting Costs

PHASE 0101

Exterior work in this metro runs roughly May through early October.

Those weeks are contended, and the best of them are booked months ahead — which means a winter walkthrough gets you a week you actually wanted rather than whatever is left in August.

PHASE 0202

Waiting matters most at the joints.

This metro runs roughly 30 freeze–thaw cycles a year: water enters an open caulk joint, freezes, expands and widens it, and the next rain gets in further. A house with sound paint can wait two more years and lose almost nothing. A house with open joints and bare wood is accumulating repair cost every winter, and the repaint you delay is more expensive than the one you book.

TWIN CITIES COVERAGE

Exterior Painting Cost Guides Across The Metro

Written walkthrough estimates and weather-proof specs across Minneapolis, St. Paul, and surrounding suburbs.

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100% Twin Cities LocalExperienced & dedicated crews

PORTFOLIO

Our Recent Transformations

Real projects. Real homes. Real Twin Cities.

Exteriors📍 Bloomington, MN

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Sanderling & Shiitake Exterior

🎨 PALETTE USED:

Sanderling (SW 7513)

Shiitake (SW 9173)

Interiors📍 St. Paul, MN

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Tempe Star Stairwell & Entry

🎨 PALETTE USED:

Tempe Star (SW 6229)

Exteriors📍 Minneapolis, MN

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Lodge Brown Deck Staining

🎨 PALETTE USED:

Lodge Brown (SW 3007)

Exteriors📍 Richfield, MN

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Nocturnal Green Stucco Exterior

🎨 PALETTE USED:

Nocturnal Green (5011-1)

Interiors📍 Minneapolis, MN

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Pure White Vaulted Living

🎨 PALETTE USED:

Pure White (SW 7005)

Natural Pine Trim

Interiors📍 St. Paul, MN

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Hale Navy Kitchen Cabinets

🎨 PALETTE USED:

Hale Navy (BM HC-154)

Interiors📍 Minneapolis, MN

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Ripe Olive Accent Fireplace

🎨 PALETTE USED:

Ripe Olive (SW 6209)

Pure White Walls

Exteriors📍 Minneapolis, MN

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Bear Creek Stucco Exterior

🎨 PALETTE USED:

Bear Creek (BM 1470)

Interiors📍 St. Paul, MN

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Clary Sage Living Room

🎨 PALETTE USED:

Clary Sage (SW 6178)

Soft Cream Trim

Exteriors📍 Minneapolis, MN

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Fashionable Gray & White Siding

🎨 PALETTE USED:

Fashionable Gray (SW 6275)

Extra White Siding

Exteriors📍 Roseville, MN

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Suburban Cedar Fence Staining

🎨 PALETTE USED:

Natural Cedar

Dovetail Charcoal

Exteriors📍 Minneapolis, MN

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Smoky Blue & White Siding

🎨 PALETTE USED:

Smoky Blue (SW 7604)

Extra White Trim

Interiors📍 Eden Prairie, MN

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Pure White Foyer & Living

🎨 PALETTE USED:

Pure White (SW 7005)

Natural Oak Trim

Interiors📍 Minneapolis, MN

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Creamy Kitchen Cabinets

🎨 PALETTE USED:

Creamy (SW 7012)

Interiors📍 Edina, MN

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Gray Owl Dining Room

🎨 PALETTE USED:

Gray Owl (OC-52)

Pure White Trim

Exteriors📍 St. Paul, MN

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Black Fox & White Exterior

🎨 PALETTE USED:

Black Fox (SW 7020)

Extra White (SW 7006)

Exteriors📍 Minneapolis, MN

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Orange Stucco & Maroon Trim

🎨 PALETTE USED:

Custom Orange Stucco

Custom Maroon Trim

Interiors📍 St. Paul, MN

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Hunter Green Study & Lounge

🎨 PALETTE USED:

Hunter Green (BM 2041-10)

Interiors📍 St. Paul, MN

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Iron Ore Kitchen Island

🎨 PALETTE USED:

Iron Ore (SW 7069)

Exteriors📍 Minneapolis, MN

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